Fitness trends

This year 2024 is not an exception and let's admit it that the fitness world is experiencing a great boom. Going to the gym is a status quo that is as popular among the young generation as it was for our dads to go play outside with a ball.

In this article you will learn:

• AI in fitness
• Virtual workouts
• OCR
• Hyrox

Digital innovations that bring new possibilities for tracking our performance, personalising our workouts, and offering more holistic approaches to our mental health are daily all around us.

In spite of that, the other part of the world population is experiencing its own peak - obesity that is unparalleled. Nevertheless, there is a certain hope that this huge popularity of fitness among young generation will bring more necessary lifestyle education into the society and that the future parents will become better examples to their children and others in their surroundings.

Portable technology and AI

Modern technologies include smart watches, rings, and fitness apps that are vital parts of today's sportsmen and they do not often even show up to their training without them. These equipments can track a wide range of biological data, from heart rate and sleep quality to blood pressure, stress levels, and the most important thing - burned calories. Thanks to these the users are able to understand their bodies better and adjust their workouts based on their current state.

Another significant innovation is the Artificial Intelligence (AI) that is more and more included in the world of fitness. AI is capable to analyze the data from these portables and therefore offer an enhanced and personalized recommendations about training and diet. Some platforms use AI to suggest tailor-made training plans that offer more more effective and targeted workouts.

Ultimately, this trend does not only support effective workouts, but also the overal focus on healthy lifestyle habits.

Virtual workouts and online couching

Another interesting new this year is the Virtual Reality (VR) and further development of online fitness platfoms. Online workouts and virtual workout apps simply allow people to workout whenever and wherever, which is suitable not only for workaholics, but for anyone who prefers to workout in the comfort fo their homes.

These platforms and apps allow the users to follow their progress in real time and mediate a personalized feedback from remote trainers. Even though the online workouts cannot really compare in all the benefits that you have when you workout "face to face" with your trainer, the assumption is that the virtual connection among hobby sportsmen will keep growing, since more and more people are looking for flexible and affordable options how to stay fit.

Also, short and high-intense workouts that are very easy to fit in your daily schedule are a big thing now. Fitness apps offer popular short workouts for 5-15 minutes which allow people to stay active even with a busy lifestyle. And hand to heart, every movement counts.

Popularity is growing among all age categories

2024 fitness trends also focus on inclusion and availability for people of all ages. Fitness centers are full of high school students, but workouts focused on the elderly are getting more popular. The workouts for seniors are designed in such a way to minimise the risks of injuries and offer an effective way how to help our elderly population be healthier and happier at the same time.

Hybrid workouts - from OCR to Hyrox

One of the fastest growing trends in 2024 are hybrid workouts that combine strength and endurance.

While OCR is known from outdoor competition where the sportsmen run through all Beskydy mountains there and back with ease while overcoming obstacles covered in dirt and mud, the Hyrox concept was created as an indoor discipline combining running and fitness. This sport originates in Germany and is getting very popular in the whole world.

Unlike outdoor OCR competitions, when you are unaware about the route and obstacles till the last moment, the Hyrox training program is qite strictly defined. You can expect eight one-kilometer sections combined with various functional exercises, such as sled pushing, plank squat jumps, or carrying weights. Thanks to the clearly given format, this concept is very trendy, and allows a good preparation for the competition to a wide range of trainees.

It goes without saying that the combination of strength and cardio trainings not only improves the physical condition, but also supports mental comfort and endurance. Hybrid workouts are often considered one of the most effective methods of how to quickly reach visible results, which helps them quickly with their popularity. A huge amount of burned calories and significant stimulation of muscle fiber bear fruits.

Functional fitness, calisthenics, and streetlifting

Functional workout is a type of training that aims to improve body's ability to execute basic daily tasks and movements minimising the risk of injuries. They focus on the whole body workout emphasizing improvement of coordination, stability, strength, and flexibility by simulating movements that are used in a daily life.

Functional training includes various equipment such as kettlebells, medicine balls, ropes, and other appliances that help to improve manage different movement patterns and challenges.

Not only functional workouts are becoming a thing, but also streetlifting. It is a training originating in calisthenics, but with added weights. Streetlifting focuses on the development of strength through working out with your own weight, such as different kinds of pull-ups or push-ups. This trend is interesting largely for those who look for a practical and effective workout that can be easily performed outdoors or at home with a minimum equipment.

Nvertheless, it is important to note that only the calisthenics itself requires significant physical ability, mainly strong arms and torso.

Workouts focused on mental health and mindfulness

One of the largest shits in the world of fitness is the emphasis on mental health. Workouts are not only focused to physical power and aesthetics anymore, but they progressively focus on the holistic approach including physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. Workouts such as yoga, pilates, and meditative forms of training are gaining popularity thanks to their positive effects on our psyche.

Mindfulness and meditation are not key only to manage stress, but also for the enhancement of our overal lifestyle. The COVID-19 pandemics had a huge impact on mental health and contributed to the focus of connecting body and mind in nowadays fitness programs. And that is a good thing, because that is something that was done already in the ancient Greece. Our current society not only needs to improve the physical condition, but to find a psychological balance, too.